M.Sc. / The family lridaceae includes genera such as Sparaxis, Freesia and Babiana which are popular flowering plants. The purpose of this study was the propagation in tissue culture of Sparaxis plants. After the applicable techniques have been formulated, the aim was to test the efficiency of the techniques on the other genera. The techniques can then be extended to endangered genera. Apical meristems as well as axillary meristems were dissected aseptically and grown on the medium of Heinz and Mee (1969). It is difficult to acquire aseptic explant material of Sparaxis because of the net-like fibres surrounding the corm. Growth of aseptic meristem explants occurred within a week under 16h light and 25 ± 1 °C. Proliferation of meristems occurred and gave rise to more than one plant from the same explant. The study was extended to seeds as an explant source, as well as the influences of various factors such as pH, carbon source and gelling agents, on the growth and proliferation of the plants. Rooting of the plants was investigated and hardening done for transfer of the plants to the greenhouse.

M.Sc. (Botany) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Orientador: Salatiér Buzetti / Co-orientador:. Mário Luiz Teixeira de Moraes / Co-orientador: Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto Teixeira Filho / Banca: Marcelo Andreotti / Banca: Paulo Henrique Muller da Silva / Resumo: No Brasil, grande parte do plantio da cultura do eucalipto encontra-se em área de solo de baixa fertilidade, com pouca disponibilidade de fósforo (P) e potássio (K), e baixo teor de matéria orgânica (M.O.), o que implica em carência do fornecimento de nutrientes à planta, refletindo na redução da produtividade. Neste sentido, objetivou-se avaliar a fertilização nitrogenada, fosfatada e potássica no crescimento das plantas de eucalipto visando qualidade nutricional e alta produtividade. O experimento foi conduzido na Fazenda Renascença, fundo agrícola administrado pela Cargill Agrícola S/A, localizado no município de Três Lagoas/MS. O delineamento experimental foi o de blocos casualizados com dez tratamentos e cinco repetições. Os tratamentos foram constituídos de doses de nitrogênio (N) (0, 70, 105 e 140 kg ha-1), doses de P (0, 40, 70 e 100 kg ha-1 de P2O5) e doses de K (0, 90, 135 e 180 kg ha-1 de K2O). As doses de N e K foram aplicadas no plantio e em cobertura, com três parcelamentos (aos 2, 9 e 14 meses após o plantio), e as de P somente no plantio. Foram avaliados: o diâmetro à altura do peito (DAP), altura de plantas, volume de madeira com casca, análise foliar dos nutrientes, a fertilidade do solo e as relações dos nutrientes nas folhas e no solo. O DAP e o volume foram influenciados positivamente pela fertilização nitrogenada, já a fosfatada e a potássica aumentaram o crescimento do eucalipto em DAP, altura e volume. As concentrações dos nutrientes estiveram adequadas mesmo com a ausência da aplicação de N, P e K. Com o aumento das doses de K houve incremento das concentrações foliares de K e diminuição das de cálcio (Ca) e magnésio (Mg) / Abstract: In Brazil, much of the Eucalyptus planting is in soils area of low fertility, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) availability and organic matter (O.M.), which implies in low nutrients supply to the plant, reflecting the reduced productivity. In this context, it was aimed to evaluate nitrogen (N), P and K fertilizations on plant growth Eucalyptus aiming nutritional quality and high productivity. Experiment was conducted at Renascença Farm, agricultural fund managed by Cargill Agricola S/A located in Três Lagoas/MS. Experimental design was a randomized block with ten treatments and five replications. Treatments consisted of N rates (0, 70, 105 and 140 kg ha- 1), P rates (0, 40, 70 and 100 kg ha-1 P2O5) and K rates (0, 90, 135 and 180 kg ha-1 K2O). Nitrogen and K were applied at planting and top-dressing and P rates only at planting. It was evaluated: diameter at breast height (DBH), plant height, volume of wood with bark and leaf analysis of macronutrients concentrations. The DBH and volume were influenced positively by N fertilization, P and K, since the eucalyptus growth in DAP, height and volume increased with P and K fertilization. The macronutrients concentrations were appropriate even in the absence of N, P and K application. Increasing rates of K was increased foliar concentrations of K and decreased calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) / Mestre

M.S.

M.S.

Master of Science

Orientador: Rogério Lopes Vieites / Banca: Hélio Grassi Filho / Banca: Elisangela Marques Jeronimo Torres / Resumo: O fornecimento adequado de nutrientes é fundamental para o desenvolvimento e qualidade pós-colheita dos produtos hortícolas. O objetivo desta pesquisa foi avaliar o efeito da adubação nitrogenada e bórica na produção e pós-colheita da beterraba cultivar Tall Top Early Wonder, armazenada em câmara fria a temperatura de 5 ± 1 °C e UR de 85 ± 5 %. O experimento foi conduzido na Fazenda Experimental de São Manuel, localizada no município de São Manuel - SP. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos inteiramente casualizado, com quatro tratamentos constituídos das combinações entre a adubação com nitrogênio e boro: sem nitrogênio e sem boro (SNSB), sem nitrogênio e com boro (SNCB), com nitrogênio e sem boro (CNSB) e com nitrogênio e com boro (CNCB), em quatro repetições. Os tratamentos com boro (4 Kg ha-1) foram aplicados em dose única na adubação de plantio e os tratamentos com nitrogênio (90 Kg ha-1) em cobertura, parcelada em um terço da dose total aos 15, 30 e 45 dias após o transplante. A fonte de nitrogênio utilizada foi a uréia e de boro o bórax. Avaliou-se na colheita a altura das plantas, massa fresca e seca da raiz e da parte aérea, diâmetro e comprimento da raiz e produtividade. Após a colheita foram avaliadas as variáveis perda de massa fresca, pH, sólidos solúveis, acidez titulável, açúcares redutores, cor, respiração, pigmentos, compostos fenólicos, atividade antioxidante, flavonóides, composição centesimal e aparência. Os resultados demonstram que na colhe... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Adequate nutrient supply is essential to the development and post-harvest quality of vegetables. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of nitrogen and boric fertilization on the production and post harvest of the Tall Top Early Wonder beet stored in a cold room at 5 ± 1 ° C and RH of 85 ± 5%. The experiment was conducted at the São Manuel Experimental Farm. The experimental design was a completely randomized block design, with four treatments consisting of nitrogen and boron nitrogen and no boron (SNSB), nitrogen and boron (SNCB), nitrogen and boron (CNSB) and with nitrogen and boron (CNCB) in four replicates. Boron treatments (4 kg ha-1) were applied in a single dose in planting fertilization and treatments with nitrogen (90 kg ha-1) in cover, divided in one third of the total dose at 15, 30 and 45 days after the transplant. The source of nitrogen was urea and boron was used as borax. Plant height, fresh and dry root and shoot mass, root diameter and length and yield and post-harvest loss of fresh weight, pH, soluble solids, titratable acidity, reducing sugars, quantification of the instrumental color, respiration, pigments, phenolic compounds, antioxidant activity, flavonoids, centesimal composition and visual analysis. The results showed that nitrogen yielded an increase in yield, larger roots and more homogeneous to the market, while boron promoted an increase in dry root mass. However, there was no interaction between the nitrogen and boron factors in... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Orientador: William Natale / Coorientador: Léon-Etienne Parent / Banca: Antonio Enedi Boaretto / Banca: Danilo Eduardo Rozane / Banca: Silvia Helena Modenese Gorla da Silva / Banca: Cássio Hamilton Abreu Junior / Resumo: A resposta da goiabeira à adubação e à calagem pode ser monitorada pela análise de solo e de tecido vegetal, ferramenta utilizada visando o reequilíbrio do solo e da planta, através da adição de nutrientes em concentração adequada. Porém, o conceito de saturação por bases da capacidade de troca catiônica (CTC), usado para fins de avaliação da fertilidade do solo, é fracamente apoiado experimentalmente, é intrinsecamente influenciado pela tendência e redundância dos dados, possuindo dependência de escala e distribuição nãonormal. Por outro lado, o perfil nutricional, usado para fins de diagnose da nutrição vegetal, é definido em relação à padrões de teores de nutrientes, os quais são constantemente criticados por não considerarem as interações que ocorrem entre os elementos e por gerarem tendências numéricas, decorrentes da redundância dos dados, da dependência de escala e da distribuição não-normal. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho foi avaliar um sistema de razões log isométricas (ilr) para corrigir tais distorções, tanto na avaliação da fertilidade do solo como da diagnose foliar, viabilizando o manejo da adubação e da calagem em pomares de goiabeira, ajustando os atuais padrões de nutrientes com a faixa de equilíbrio das goiabeiras mais produtivas. Para isso, foi utilizada uma base de dados de experimentos conduzidos, durante três anos, com doses de N, P e K e, durante sete anos, com doses de calcário, em pomares de goiabeira. Os valores no solo de K, Ca, Mg e da acidez potencial (H + Al) foram divididos em três partições binárias da seguinte forma: o balanço do solo [K | Ca, Mg, H + Al] para gerenciar a adubação potássica; o balanço do solo [Ca, Mg | H + Al] para monitorar a necessidade de calcário; e, o balanço do solo [Ca | Mg] para estabelecer o material de calagem. Selecionaram-se os... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The response of the guava tree to fertilizing and liming can be monitored by analyzing the soil and the plant tissue so that a balance can be reestablished by adding nutrients at the appropriate concentration. However, the concept of base saturation of cationic exchange capacity (CEC), used to assess soil fertility, has little experimental backing and is intrinsically influenced by the trend and redundancy of the data, is scale-dependent and has non-normal distribution. On the other hand, the nutritional profile used for plant nutritional diagnosis is defined in relation to standard nutrient content figures which are constantly criticized for ignoring interactions between elements and for generating numeric trends as a result of data redundancy, scale-dependence and non-normal distribution. Therefore, the aim of the study was to evaluate a system of isometric log ratios (ilr) to correct these distortions, both in soil fertility assessment and in foliar diagnosis, making it possible to manage fertilizing and liming in guava tree orchards, adjusting the current nutrient standards to the range of the highest yielding guava trees. To do this, a database of experiments conducted in guava tree orchards were used, over a three-year period using doses of N, P and K, and over a seven-year period with doses of lime. The soil values for K, Ca, Mg and potential acidity (H + Al) were split into three binary partitions as follows: soil balance [K | Ca, Mg, H + Al] to manage potassium fertilizing; soil balance [Ca, Mg | H + Al] to monitor the need for liming; and soil balance [Ca | Mg] to establish the liming material. The [N, P, K | Ca, Mg], [N, P | K], [N | P] and [Ca | Mg] foliar balances were selected in order to separate the parts played by fertilizers (N-K) and liming (Ca-Mg) in balancing the nutrients. The critical cationic balances in the soil were... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.

Major transitions between vertebrate and insect pollination systems have occurred many times during the angiosperm radiation and are associated with evolutionary modifications in floral traits. In the large ancestrally bird-pollinated African genus Protea (Proteaceae), an evolutionary shift from bird to insect pollination in the genus is suggested by the fruity diurnal scent of flowers in a recently evolved clade of grassland species. In this study, I confirm that four of these grassland Protea species have mixed mating systems and are indeed insect pollinated, and furthermore demonstrate the functional significance of their floral presentation and scent chemistry for attraction of pollinators, specifically cetoniine beetles. The study species, Protea caffra, Protea dracomontana, Protea simplex and Protea welwitschii, have colourful bowl-shaped inflorescences that produce copious amounts of pollen and dilute, xylose-rich nectar. Cetoniine beetles were found to be the most suitable pollinators due to their abundance, size, relatively pure Protea pollen loads, and their preference for the fruity scent and low growth form of these scented Protea species, as demonstrated by choice experiments in which inflorescences were offered at either end of a y-maze or at various heights above the ground, respectively. Bagging and hand pollinations revealed that these Protea species are self-compatible and capable of autonomous selfing. Self progeny of P. caffra were as vigorous as cross progeny in terms of germinability and survivorship to two months. Vertebrate-excluded and open-pollinated inflorescences yielded similar seed numbers for all species. Supplemental hand-pollinations, however, failed to increase seed set substantially, an indication of resource limitation. Outcrossing rates estimated using polymorphisms at eight allozyme loci in progeny from vertebrate-excluded and open-pollinated treatments of P. caffra were no different (t=0.59), indicating outcrossing by insects and an equal or insubstantial contribution from bird pollinators. The fruity-sweet scents of these species were more complex, with higher whole flower and mass-specific emission rates, than those in eight bird-pollinated congenerics. The overall floral scent is shown to be a blend of emissions from various plant parts, especially nectar. Electroantennography (EAG) revealed that the generalist pollinator Atrichelaphinis tigrina responds to a variety of volatile compounds found in fruity Protea scents. Field trapping confirmed that this cetoniine beetle is strongly attracted to ß-linalool (up to 60% of scent profile) and methyl benzoate. In conclusion, this study demonstrates the evolution of beetle pollination and mixed mating systems in a grassland clade of Protea. Volatile compounds that make up the unique (within Protea) fruity scent of the study species are shown to attract beetles, and the emission of large amounts of these compounds was probably a key step in the transition from bird to insect pollination in Protea. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2012.